Venezuelan President Finally Admits That Socialism Is Broken, Economy Is Destroyed
By Scott Kelnhofer
August 1, 2018 at 10:27am
Food and medicine shortages, frequent power blackouts, lack of running water. Welcome to a day in the life of virtually every citizen of Venezuela, thanks to a failing economy, hyperinflation and an autocratic government whose socialist policies have been an utter disaster.
Just about everyone in the world knows that Venezuela’s socialist model has been a failure. Now, the country’s president has admitted it as well — sort of.
“The production models we’ve tried so far have failed and the responsibility is ours, mine and yours,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told members of his ruling congress Tuesday.
While Maduro may have admitted failure, he’s still not necessarily taking the blame. He believes (or at least tells his citizens) that many of the country’s economic problems stem from the U.S. “empire” trying to undermine his administration through military intimidation and economic sanctions.
“Enough with the whining… we need to produce with or without (outside) aggression, with or without blockades, we need to make Venezuela an economic power,” Maduro said. “No more whining, I want solutions comrades!”
Maduro said he will no longer blame the U.S. for his country’s problems.
“Enough of whining,” Maduro said. “You will not see me whining to myself. I do not blame them anymore. You do not see me whining in front of imperialism. Let them attacks us. It is up to us whether to act with aggression or without aggression.”
Venezuela’s economic decline began under former President Hugo Chavez. A country that was once overflowing with revenue from its state-run oil production saw those revenues sharply decline in the past decade as U.S. production increased and global prices fell.
Under Maduro, the crisis worsened. His government has nationalized cement and steel production and taken over operation of private businesses such as supermarket chains and others that provide basic services to its citizens.
But oil revenues still account for 96 percent of the country’s revenues, so as government fails to collect an adequate amount of money from its oil business, it has failed to provide an adequate amount of services for its citizens.
Due to hyperinflation — the International Monetary Fund estimates Venezuela’s inflation rate will reach 1 million percent this year — food shortages and high prices, 93 percent of the population does not earn enough to buy food, according to a 2017 study conducted in Venezuela. Venezuelans have lost, on average, 20 pounds since the country’s humanitarian crisis began in 2015.
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Poster Comment:
Money, or the lack of it, is always the problem.